


Those Who Remember

by orphan_account



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: ABANDONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE (Unless you want me to continue this work), CORE incidents, CURRENTLY BEING EDITED- EARLY CHAPTERS ARE BEING REVAMPED, Dadster, Frisk is gone, Lots of edits, Major character death - Freeform, Nightmares, Original Character(s), PTSD, Timeline Shenanigans, When All Hope is Lost
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-29
Updated: 2016-07-16
Packaged: 2018-07-19 02:56:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7341745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the circle is broken,<br/>it leaves a token<br/>a shadow, a remnant,<br/>lost and heartbroken.</p><p>For those who remember<br/>know things that encumber<br/>and hold it down under<br/>and doing so, blunder.</p><p>Despairing, the trinity<br/>each, an affinity,<br/>accepting that,<br/>in hopeless honesty,</p><p>that there will be no angel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Note

 

_I-I… just want to say one last thing to you…_

 

 _Say goodbye to Nick for me, okay?_ _I’ll be fine…_

_I promise… I’ll see you again, sometime._

 

 _I’m sorry I’m doing this…_ _But it’s just one way or the other, isn’t it?_

 

_Just keep this in mind for me…_

_You’ll always be my l’il sis, V, and nothing will ever change that._

 

_You know, I always was the pessimist, wasn’t I?_

I _hope you’ll do better without me holding you down._

 

_I know you’ll do great..._

  _Please, just remember that._

 

_See you later, V…_

 

_It’s a beautiful day outside—_

_birds are singing,_

_flowers are blooming._

_On days like these, kids like me—_

 

_probably shouldn’t be falling down holes in the ground._

 

_But hey, since it’s happening anyway, I guess I'll give my 'last goodbyes'..._

_Even if I know you won't hear me..._

_Bye V…_

_Bye Nick…_

 

_I’ve had a good run with you…_

_Please, forgive for doing this, at least…_

_You know, I’d never thought I’d die this way—_

_but at least it’ll be easier than dying in a dark cell in some lab, right?_

 

_Last thoughts... Heh... It's almost funny..._

_But hey, it's not like anyone's going to miss me anyway..._

_Right?_

 

 

 


	2. Fallen Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Underground became the final resting place of many humans who fell even before they hit the ground, and even more who were unlucky enough to hit the sharp rocks of the Ruins. Whether history will repeat itself this time is up to one person, who's finally decided to start taking matters into their own hands, however painful it may be.

A thump echoed through the long corridors of the Ruins. A body lay broken on the hard ground, crimson staining the earth below them. A flower popped up from the ground, muttering something incomprehensible. It popped back into the ground shortly thereafter, looking rather disappointed. Perhaps it was looking for something- or someone. They knew they were, they just... couldn't remember who they were, no matter how hard they tried... How strange.

Croaks resounded through the hall next to the grave of the first Fallen, but fell silent as a white figure clad in simple, purple robes passed through to pay their respects. They saw a body lying broken on the hard ground, the crimson staining the earth beneath them. They quietly walked over, picked them up, and walked away before the Keeper of the Ruins could see them. The room fell quiet once more, silence falling once more over the cold, dark corridors of the Ruins.

 

The figure may have been a former prince, the One Who Had Seen the Surface, and many other things, but right now, they were just another forgotten monster, hidden away under the shadow of the Ruins. They had a name once... A name not uttered outside the darkness for a long, long time. But what did it matter? It wasn't his name. Not anymore, anyway.

Asriel was supposed to be the name of the sweet, young, and innocent prince of the Monster Kingdom. That was the name of the Prince, and later the One who has Seen the Surface, or whatever that prophecy thing was supposed to be about. Now as for him... he wasn't Asriel, really. Can you really call a resurrected shell of a monster what they once were?

Toriel was in the Ruins, Asgore in the capital, and himself in the same, dark, forgotten corners of the Ruins that the young Prince used to explore so much when they were still among the living... He held memories that weren't his own. Enough so that he could still feel like he was in the Prince's shoes, but without his soul, he wasn't the Prince anymore. He would never be.

 

He made his way through the various traps and puzzles in the Ruins, making it through a some, but stalling on others as he attempted to make his way back home safely. The old puzzles of the Ruins were especially dangerous- the archaic traps still lasted through centuries of disrepair and neglect, but the clockwork mechanisms were starting to rust and fail at this point. It wasn't uncommon to be hurt by the puzzles when springs slipped in the mechanisms.

He held his hand to the limp body he held, and watched it slowly rise and fall. He brought it up, stained crimson with blood. He picked up his pace, hurrying towards his destination as he tried to keep the red liquid from pooling out of the wounds.

As he passed by, the cavern grew darker, unlit by the magical crystals that shone elsewhere in the Underground. Darkness reigned here, and without the crystals to chase it away, the gloom was overbearing, suffocating all who came there, slowly, but surely.

After a bit more walking, he held the body close and took something out of a nearby cache. He bandaged most of the wounds with the torn cloth that he took out, sealing them before he set off again, red stains spreading over the mangled body. It would do... It wouldn't be enough, but it was something, at the very least. He was nearly home, but he needed to do this to let them last the extra distance to his home. He was nearly there, though, so hopefully it would be enough.

 

He stepped onto the small plate on front of the door, waiting a few moments before it swung open. Inside, a small cot lay next to the entrance, a collection of vials and bottles on the shelf on the opposite side of the room. After setting the body down on the cot, he grabbed one of the green vials, dripping it over the bandages before placing it back on the shelf, and then mixed a concoction of blue and purple liquid. He dripped it into the open mouth, and watched as the wounds slowly began to close up.

He then brought them back to a small room a ways from his home, setting down a small blanket before placing them down gently. He left a small note before he left them to themselves. Every time it was like this... They would fall, he'd patch them up, and put them back, once the first few bodies started falling down in the Ruins. Hopefully, like the others, he would never cross paths with them again...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since this is the first chapter with any reasonable amount of content in it, Please give some feedback on changes you might want later in the plot, or feedback on the writing itself. I'm still new to doing anything like this as of now, so any constructive feedback that you give will be greatly helpful. In addition, there will be little to no content starting from July 7 onwards for about a month because of academia and other things, so expect a huge drop in activity around that time. Anyway, thanks for reading!


	3. Of Those Forever Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Always are there those forever lost  
> left out in the cold, sharp, white frost  
> void of all warmth left to exhaust
> 
>  
> 
> NOTE: CURRENTLY BEING EDITED

When Sirius woke up, it was in one of the oddest situations he'd ended up in. He was on a small blanket in a cave, with a small note next to him saying 'take care'. It was nice that he was alive after tripping into the hole in the mountain, but he was stuck down here, wasn't he? At least there were people down here... People decent enough not to try to kill him as soon as they saw him. Tough luck...

He pulled himself and examined himself, surprised that he didn't find any wounds. It must not have been a long drop...?

He looked up at the roof of the cavern, and the sheer length of the drop from the few cracks at the very top. It was a wonder he somehow came out of that unscathed... Bewildered, he looked around, spotting an ancient door with a strange rune carved on its face, barely lit by the fading sunlight. He pushed it open, as it opened to a hallway. As he looked back at the door, he saw a human face staring at him, set in stone... He scrambled away, and continued on his way.

He came across various puzzles and traps, ancient and rusted with centuries of neglect, years that showed themselves clearly against the rather out-of-place messages written on the walls in chalk, detailing their solutions. Perhaps someone wanted people to come safely through... Right? It wasn't as if someone was trying to kill him...

They weren't like normal traps, however... They looked as if they were simply designed to protect, rather than to maim or trap. Things were quite... Odd down here. When he saw a couple of rocks and three pressure plates, he could roll the first two rocks well enough, but the third... The third had a strangely assertive personality, so he managed to somehow persuade it to stay there long enough for him to cross the bridge. This new place was... Quite odd indeed.

He continued on, making his way through the halls until he saw what looked to be a white, cartoonish ghost pretending to sleep on the floor. Carefully, Sirius attempted to climb over the strange being, but he tripped and fell, sprawling all over the floor.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to..."

The ghost started to cry, shimmering white tears pouring out onto the floor. A small pool formed on the floor, the sheer volume of the tears simply proving too much for the holding capacity of the small corridor. Sirius hurriedly got up, apologising profusely, but it was no use- the hallway began to flood, forcing Sirius to bolt towards the exit. Today was an awfully strange day, wasn't it?

After he closely escaped a watery death, he stumbled across what looked like... A small frog? He scratched his head once, before deciding to complement it. It seemed rather puzzled, and proceeded to hop back into the shadows. It was... Rather peaceful, once he got a little used to the scenery. Although the city in the distance appeared to be ruined, it at least seemed somewhat populated despite the state of disrepair.

Before he could progress much further, however, a trio of... creatures suddenly showed up, spotting him by the 

* * *

 

_ "No, don't do this to me..." _

_ "Mom... Dad... Run!" _

_ Shots rang out in the distance, shots kicking up dirt from the thinly covered ground. _

_ "Please... you can't leave me!?" _

_ "no... No! NO!" _

_ A sharp crack echoed as one of the figures dropped, red blossoming in the snow... _

_ "Leave them ALONE!" _

_ crackling thunder cut across the forest, followed by pained screams... _

_ The rest of the forest fell silent, save the sobbing of the child, leaning over two corpses... _

__

_ Two different of blossoms emerged that night in the winter cold... those of blood, and those of tears.  
_

_ A mournful howl echoed through the cold, frozen forest. _

_  
_

_... _

__

_ A dark grey, faded figure in a cracked mask flickered into existence, facing the bloodied corpses.  _

_~~ Such a shame, isn't it? ~~ _

_~~ Humans are such cruel creatures... ~~ _

_~~ I am sorry I could not help... ~~ _

_~~ I am but a voice, a powerless presence. ~~ _

_~~ However, I do have one thing to tell you, my dear Sirius...   
do not give up on yourself, no matter what you do. Remember that. ~~ _

_~~ Even if you will not remember my words, please... Just remember that... ~~ _

_~~ Tell that to my sons when the time comes. ~~ _

_~~ I have not much time left, so I must leave now... ~~ _

_~~ Farewell.   
I hope we meet again... ~~ _

 

_ The figure flickered once more, a pained expression on his face before an impossibly dark void opened up behind him, swallowing him whole. _


	4. Of Those Forever Wandering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No matter where one travels, those forever wandering are found...  
> Those forever wandering mourn those forever lost, forever bound...  
> until they themselves have fallen down, to never make another sound...  
> giving up and lying down on the cold, hard, dusty ground...
> 
> A trait for which the Underground is very much renowned.

Asriel Dreemurr... Prince of the Underground.

The One who has seen the surface.

The Angel who will free us all.

Again.

And again.

And yet again.

Until it didn't matter anymore.

 

The Boss Monster was sitting on a toppled pillar next to his small cottage. He woke up to horrors, nightmares... Nightmares where a strange, red-eyed child in a blue sweater with a purple stripe would fall into the underground, slaughtering everyone in the Underground... Friends... Family... Acquaintances... It really didn't seem to matter to them at all. They all ended the same way. With the quick swipe of a worn, rusted dagger. The very same dagger that Asgore gave to Chara before they fell ill...

It couldn't have been Chara... It would never be. Chara was dead... Just another lost soul wandering through the Void. Even if they did come back... Chara would never do that to anyone- they wouldn't do it to  _him_... Chara was too kind to do anything like this... Sure, they came up with the plan back then, but that was simply because they wanted to free us. They always were trying to make things right, defending Asriel from bullies, making sure he was careful all the time, doing every little thing they could to make every monster's life just a little bit better...

At least Chara never had to experience the horrors of the resets, of having their soul being torn away again and again by a demonic shadow of their former self. Sure, it did result in the breaking of the barrier for a short while, but that was it... Every time he packed his belongings to see the Surface one more time, the world would reset. Again, again, and again... He didn't really care about the Surface anymore at this point. All he wanted now was just to be able to rest a while, to be able to close his eyes without seeing unspeakable horrors...

Something was taking the world away from him, taking everything from him- friends, acquaintances, he had to meet them all countless times, and greet them in the exact same ways at the same times, in the same place... Something was bringing him back to the world he so wanted to leave, to the dark, damp, abandoned cottage. He needed to know who or what was doing this to him, and why this would happen so many times... Every time, it felt as if a chunk of his soul was ripped away from him, as if he was falling apart with every reset...

He had to investigate the rest of the Underground- it was something that he had to do, no matter what happened. Even if he died, he would return to the same spot, the same place, feeling empty, alone... Abandoned... He had to find out the truth sometime, didn't he?

Before he could reconsider, he put together a small bundle of supplies, gathered up the small pile of gold he had been saving, and put them in a pouch before heading out to see the Ruins one more time. He passed by the ruined halls of the old Royal Palace... The sombre ruins of what once was a thriving city... The quiet, dark corners of the old Ruins... The puzzle-ridden paths, in all their glory... And Chara's grave.

He knelt down next to Chara's grave, placing down a dusty bar of chocolate on the raised earth.

"Howdy, Chara... You know, Asriel might be long gone, lost in the pages of crummy old history books, but... I just want to let you know that I'm still here. I'm just saying goodbye before I leave, okay? I hope Toriel will take care of you until I come back. I hope you're fine with that... Bye, Chara."

A small petal fell from one of the flowers into his lap. Tears welled up in his eyes as he pat the earth one last time, breathing out heavily. He stood up and turned away, the soft footsteps echoing in the cold, stone halls. When he arrived at his destination, he grabbed the handle of a simple door and pushed- a simple, warmly lit home opened up before him.

Golden flowers were in pots everywhere around the house, and a single stairwell led down into a cold, dark hallway. He slowly walked down the steps and kept going... He turned the corner, expecting to find nothing but a carefully engraved stone door... Instead, a very stern-looking Toriel glanced at him, a fireball materialising in each of her raised palms. "Who are you, and what are you doing in my h-" Her expression suddenly dropped, tears forming in her widening eyes as she extinguished the flames. "Is that... you, Asriel?"

* * *

 Toriel covered her mouth with one hand, the other shaking as she slowly reached out to touch him. Her hand met with soft, white fur... She didn't pass through- he wasn't just a product of her imagination. He was real. Asriel was... back?

"How..."

He looked away, covering his face with one hand.

"Asriel's been gone for a long time. He's dead... He won't come back, Toriel, I'm sorry."

"Please my child... How can you say that to  don't leave me again..."

Toriel grabbed Asriel's arm, as he tried to walk towards the exit outside the Ruins.

"Just let me go. I'm not Asriel, I never will be either... Don't you have anything better to do?"

Toriel froze at the words and held on tighter.

"Even if you may not be Asriel anymore, You are still my son. Please, do not leave me behind here, in the Ruins, alone like this... I am still your family, am I not?"

Asriel pulled away, walking towards the door.

"I'm sorry, Toriel... I can't stay here any longer- I have to go forward."

He pushed open the door and trudged towards the forest, disappearing in the thick brush. Toriel could only watch as her son was taken away from her a second time.   
Echoes of the past bounced off the damp walls, as the voice of the lost one faded from the ruins of Home once more.

He was the prince of all monster-kind.  
He was the fate of humans and monsters.

But now...

The only thing he had left was to keep moving forward...

At least that way, he would stay DETERMINED.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For all those who actually are reading this (pretty awful) post, I'll be going on hiatus with the series, since I really can't think up anything more about it, as more of like a short burst of ideas. Comment if you want this series to continue, and if you have any suggestions, I'd be happy to accept them. As for now, this series will be discontinued until anyone does.


	5. Of Those Forever Watching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And those who give up and lay down on the cold, hard, dusty ground  
> are by those forever watching sometimes found,  
> and buried in the earth under an unmarked mound  
> or, right before the reaper comes, turned again around...
> 
> But all too many fall to dust, like flour finely pounded,  
> for reasons that many leave lost or unfounded...  
> And then the wandering, again, are bound.

Sirius awoke to the sound of Toriel sobbing. A wracking cough took over every now and then, but it didn't stop... For a long time. He laid down in bed and listened, wondering what could have possibly made Toriel so unhappy... Every now and then, a name would emerge from out of the flurry of tear-filled words. Every time he heard it, he felt like there was something missing... As if he knew that name once before, a long, long time ago.

"Oh, my child..."

"Why must you leave myself like this here, alone..."

"My child..."

"Asriel..."

...

Sirius slowly lifted himself up and sat, leaning against the wall.

The sobbing slowly came to a stop, soft sniffles emerging every now and then... After a few more moments, a red-eyed Toriel came through the door, holding a soggy piece of pie.

"I am sorry that the pie is not the best it could be..."

"Please, take care..."

"Good night, my child."

She placed the pie down on the small bedside table next to Sirius, after which she slowly turned and walked towards the door. She was almost out of the room when she collapsed on the ground. Toriel lay deathly still, cold to the touch. Sirius panicked, running over to Toriel and shaking her, frantically trying to get her to wake up. She couldn't have simply died on the spot, could she? After all, depression alone isn't a death sentence...

Right?

...

Sirius quickly picked up Toriel's arm and started dragging it towards the only direction he could think of: out. He found a note in black ink, spattered and distorted by splotches of tears, still wet from the time of writing.

_"My child... If you wish to see the rest of the Underground, the exit to the Ruins is down here... Be careful for me, will you?"_

He dragged Toriel's still body down the stairs, hurriedly pulling her to the end of the hall. A ornately engraved door emerged from the darkness, a bright light coming through the crack in the door. Sirius pulled the door open, and was hit with a freezing cold blast of air, blasting him back into the hall. he pushed his way into the frozen world beyond the doors, Toriel in tow.

 

* * *

 

Sans was never a good sentry, all in all- it was really just a job to keep his brother off his case, since he was always apparently 'lazy', or just 'didn't put enough backbone' into his efforts. That he did, but... Who ever said a job had to be about doing work? He was simply here to keep an eye on things, wasn't he? After all, he knew what was going to happen anyway, so there wasn't any point in making the effort to collect field information. Wasn't really interested in it either, but who could say no to a face like that? Papyrus was just too cool to ignore, really.

He was heading over to his first sentry station of the day, at the entrance of Snowdin. After all, Frisk always came through here, didn't they? Right from that door in the Ruins. Funny, really... His memories of the last timeline were... Kinda fuzzy, and he didn't see anything in his notes down in the lab except the fact that he skipped a number while he was counting resets. Weird.

Anyway, it's about time he headed over to that sentry station, isn't it?

Sans, making sure that no one was looking, took one of his neat little 'shortcuts' to his sentry station. It really was handy to be able to teleport places- it definitely beat having to wade through the deep snow outside Snowdin Town, anyway. 

He was taking a swig from the ketchup bottle he kept in the cabinet when he heard the creaking of an ancient hinge from the direction of the woods. He flashed his left eye, teleporting to the woods around the door to see if the human arrived yet. They always did, eventually, didn't they?

...

_Oh._

He... wasn't exactly expecting  _this_ , wasn't he?

 

The door... was open.

The very door that he spent so much time knocking on, making jokes, puns, conversation... That door that separated him from who he thought might be his best friend if he ever met them...

...

And a monster crying for help, Toriel's limp body in tow.

...

Of all the things that he could have possibly expected,  _this_ wasn't one of them. What could have possibly caused that cheerful, easygoing, pun-loving, hilarious to... Well, now that he thought about it, she really was a bit of a mirror image of himself, wasn't she? It must have been too much... But still.

Of all the people that Sans thought would have fallen down... Why Toriel?

 

He turned away, a dark expression on his face. Besides, it would all reset again, right? All over again. Like it did so many times, unrelentingly so... In the end, it never mattered much, really. Not anymore... Nothing mattered anymore.

And even if it did, who was he to try to make a difference? Every little bit of that megalomaniac, all the way down to their SOUL, was determined to take everything he ever cared about away from him...

 _'ok. i gave up trying to go back a long time ago._  '

_'and getting to the surface doesn't really appeal anymore, either.'_

_'cause even if we do... we'll just end up right back here, without any memory of it, right?'_  

_'to be blunt... it makes it kind of hard to give it my all.'_     **...**

_'... or is that just a poor excuse for being lazy...? hell if i know.'_   **really gets to you, doesn't it?**

_'all i know is... seeing what comes next... i can't afford not to care anymore.'_   **i can't afford not to not care anymore, either. Not anymore.**

**Not a single one of these words stopped Frisk from killing us all, one by one, again, and again, and again...**

 

**i can't afford to care anymore.**

**it's too painful to care.**

 

 

 

Sans walked slowly back to his sentry post, burdened with a silence only broken by the soft crying of someone who lost everything a second time. Of course, what did it matter? Nobody remembered except him, right? No one else but the man who spoke in hands...

For a judge, he really did lose his sense of justice, didn't he?  
A true judge would never give up like this.

But if he wasn't the judge of the Underground anymore...

Who could he be other than the epitome of cowards everywhere?

The sleeping sentry, the decadent guard, the silent seer...

 

If he really couldn't afford not to care anymore, then he would be doing at least something against the inevitable, wouldn't he?


End file.
